The United States Criminal Justice System is best described as the search for the truth, however the more precise definition of its states that it is the system of law enforcement, the bar, the judiciary, corrections, and probation that is directly involved in the apprehension, prosecution, defense, sentencing, incarceration, and supervision of those suspected of or charged with criminaloffences. As humans handle the justice system, it is bound to make mistakes and such errors lead to circumstances in which an innocent is found guilty; this is called a miscarriage of justice. Miscarriage of justice means the failure of a judicial system or court in the administration of justice, especially when an innocent is convicted in a crime. If someone is wrongfully convicted, that person ispunished for an offence he or she did not commit and the actual perpetrator of the crime goes free. There are several elements that cause a miscarriage of justice, such as non-disclosure of evidence by police or prosecution, confirmation bias on the part of investigators, fabrication of evidence, poor identification, and unreliable confessions due to police pressure or psychological instability. How canwe prevent a miscarriage of justice? They are all considered unjust as they violate the principle of justice. Such a scenario is the Davis Milgaard case where the principles of justice are violated.
David Milgaard ,born 1954 is a Canadian who was wrongfully convicted for the murder and rape of nursing assistant Gail Miller. In 1969, Milgaard along with two friends, Ron Wilson and Nichol John,decided on a whim to take a road trip across the Canadian prairies, a trip which involved some drug use and petty theft. While the friends were in Saskatoon, a 20 year old nursing student, Gail Miller was found dead on a snow bank. At the time, Milgaard and his friends were stopping to pick up a casual friend Albert Cadrain, whose family was renting out their basement to Larry Fisher, a man laterfound guilty of the crime. British Columbia police arrested Milgaard in May of 1969 and sent him back to Saskatchewan where he was charged with Miller's murder. Milgaard was sentenced to life in prison, on January 31, 1970 at the age of 16, exactly a year after Miller's murder.
At the time of murder, David Milgaard was a hippie, and was constantly in trouble. Even before he was a teenager he wasgetting into trouble. His parents and teachers considered him impulsive; he resisted authority . He was removed from kindergarten because he was considered to be a negative influence on the other children. When he was thirteen he spent time in a psychiatric centre. The victim, Gail Miller was a 22-year-old nursing assistant living in Saskatoon. She was found in an alley way between 6:45 and7:30am on January 31st 1969. According to the police report, she had been raped, stabbed twelve times and left for dead (1969). The rape was found to have occurred after she died .The police had little evidence; as few clues had been left behind. There had been other attacks in the same area. Authorities tried to suppress the information that linked the Miller rape and murder to the two other assaults.According to (Jonathan Black (1997) The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedom is a very important principle of justice as it comes from the Bill of Rights and the English common law is the foundation of both these statutory rights .Three section of the Charter were violated in the Milgaard’s case. First the violation of section 15(a) which states that every individual is equal before andunder the law and has the right to equal protection and equal benefit of the law without discrimination based on race, national or ethnic origins, color, religion, sex, age or mental or physical disability. The police failed to find similarities between Gail’s murder and Fisher’s rape. To the police, David was an easy target as he was of a young age and he was not highly considered a good citizen...